


Lucia Is Patient, Lucia Is Kind

by Benfrosh



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: AND inherit amiti and just generally rule, F/F, if elincia and lucia adopted a kid and it followed fe inheritance rules, implied Ike/Soren, that kid would be the single greatest swordmaster in the world, wtb a fe game with that kid as the lord
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 02:25:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7248358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benfrosh/pseuds/Benfrosh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucia is the kindest, friendliest, most dedicated person Elincia knows. Elincia relies on her for everything. But will Elincia realize what Lucia wants in turn?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was almost time for Elincia's coronation. She stared out the window she was sitting beside, looking out at the castle grounds. What were soon to be her castle grounds. All day long, she had been full of a nervous excitement, the knowledge that even last year, a day like this seemed impossible. No, not impossible - the thought of it never even crossed her mind. The only life she had ever known was that of the mansion: a life of study, relaxation, and work, lots of work, but all in all a simple and happy life, lived along with...

Lucia knocked on the door of the room, gently asking, "Is it okay if I come in, Princess?"

Elincia knew who it was even before she had said anything. After spending her entire life growing up with Lucia, she had learned to recognize the sound of Lucia's knocks, the light patter of her footsteps... she could probably even tell which place setting had been used by Lucia after dinner, Elincia thought with a small giggle. "Come in, Lucia," Elincia replied. 

Lucia softly opened the door and entered, closing it behind her so that no one would see the soon-to-be Queen before her coronation. In her hands she held the necklace she had gone to fetch - a pendant with a small ruby inlaid hanging on a golden chain, to complement Elincia's dress. "Finally found the rascal," Lucia said with a smile. "Turns out Geoffrey had tried to store away everything we had retrieved from the mansion in the cellars."

Elincia shook her head in disbelief. "I barely have enough formal clothing as it is, and Geoffrey decided to hide the rest? If I didn't know better I think he was trying to mess this up," she said jokingly.

Lucia walked over behind Elincia's chair and put the necklace on, slightly fumbling with the catch. "He means well, you know. He just..." Lucia trailed off. "Isn't the best at organizing. Or really good at all, honestly. But he does mean well."

Elincia laughed. Thank the goddess Lucia was here, Elincia thought. Around Lucia she could relax and let down the guard that she was holding up more and more lately. She never had any problems with that before, but ever since she had to step up into her role as Princess Crimea, she found herself having to deftly dance her way through all sorts of court problems(both figuratively and literally). She was growing to appreciate these moments alone with her trusted friends and companions, where she could ignore her problems for a time and just let the tension drain from her body. 

Lucia finally managed to close the catch, securing the necklace with a sigh of relief. "I'm going to brush your hair one last time, and then we'll put it up. Is that alright, Princess?"

Elincia nodded. "Thank you so much for the help, Lucia. There's no one I trust more than you for helping me get ready for the coronation."

"It's really no problem, my Princess. I'm - we're always here for you, Geoffrey and I."

Elincia relaxed as Lucia started brushing her long green hair. And time passed, and Elincia thought. Truth be told, it wasn't just the coronation that made her nervous today. Something else had been building up in her for the past year, a feeling that started as a small itch but had grown more and more into a... crush, she guessed. For the longest time she hadn't known what to do about it, and then she didn't have the opportunity to do anything about it, but now she had the means and the will to act on it. And she was going to ask Lucia, here and now. She took a deep breath. "Lucia, there's something I wanted to ask you. If that's okay?" And she already messed up. "If that's okay" of course it's okay she's the Princess and Lucia's her friend and -

"Of course it is, Princess. What is it?" Lucia continued brushing Elincia's hair without missing a beat. 

Deep breath. "I need your advice on something. I have... something I need advice on. Oh, I just said that, didn't I. I-"

Lucia giggled. "Calm down, Princess. What's eating you?" 

One more deep breath. "I have a crush on someone."

"Oh, really?" If this startled Lucia at all, Elincia couldn't hear or feel it. 

"And I was thinking of confessing to them today."

"I think you should, Princess." Lucia's words were soft, but firm. She always had pushed for Elincia to be the best she could. "If you don't mind me asking..." - but these words had hesitation creeping into them - "... who is it?"

Elincia composed herself. Saying it out loud would give it power, but she couldn't leave it bottled up inside. "It's... Lord Ike."

For a second, just a fraction of a second, Lucia's hands stopped. But before Elincia could react, Lucia started brushing again. "He's quite the man, indeed. He's here today for the coronation, I believe."

Elincia nodded, still concerned about that one moment.

"I'll see if I can arrange some time for the two of you to be alone afterwards. I wish you luck, my Queen."

"I'm no queen yet, Lucia," Elincia replied. Maybe she had just imagined it, earlier.

"You're already one at heart and in spirit. The coronation is just recognizing what you've become, now." Lucia reached around and hugged Elincia. "Go get 'em."

Elincia felt Lucia's support flowing through her arms. She definitely must've just been mistaken. Lucia was completely behind Elincia and would always be there for her. She never could thank Lucia enough for being the best friend she could.

\---

As Ike walked with her down the hallway from the throne room to the balcony overlooking the castle courtyard, Elincia steeled herself. She could hardly believe it, but Lucia had pulled it off - Ike had come to see her, no one else was around, they were walking side by side and hand in hand, and her heart was aflutter. She just had to say it now. Just say it. She was Queen Crimea now and she could just say it. "My lord Ike, before we go outside..."

Ike turned at Elincia's voice. "What's up?" 

"Could we..." Elincia trailed off as she looked around, before she saw a bench on the side of the hallway. "Could we sit for a moment? There's something I wish to discuss with you."

"Sure, fine by me," Ike replied with a shrug. They sat down, and Elincia felt a brief pang of sadness as he let go of her hand, but she was determined.

"Lord Ike, over this last year with you, I've..." Elincia paused as she dug for the words. "I've been so impressed by your courage, and your strength, and everything you do."

"Aw, shucks, it was nothing," Ike said, cutely (in Elincia's opinion) rubbing the back of his head. "Just did what I could to help out."

"There's more. I think... I've fallen in love with you."

Ike blushed, but said nothing.

"You're strong, and handsome, and kind, and you've always been there for me, and I want to ask you if we could... go out? If I could court you? Whatever it is a queen does with the one she loves and whom she wants to be loved back."

With those words hanging in the air, they sat in silence, and with each passing second, Elincia felt her heart dropping further and further.

At last, Ike responded. "I'm sorry, Elincia. I don't feel the same way."

A soft "Oh." was all Elincia could muster.

Ike took her hand in support, but Elincia's heart barely even moved. "It's not you, really. You're wonderful, and I'm sure you'll find someone amazing in time. But... I can't be that for you."

Elincia took a deep breath. She couldn't cry now, not before she went out to her people. "Thank you for being honest, Ike. That's better than the alternative."

"Only way I know how to be," Ike replied with his (frustratingly) handsome smile. "Are you okay to go out? I don't mean to rush you, but I think there's people expecting us."

Elincia stood up, letting go of Ike's hand. "Yes, I'll be alright. I have to be, now." Elincia turned to face Ike one more time, putting on the bravest smile she could. "Shall we be off?"

\---

After the hubbub had died down, Elincia was heading down the halls towards her dressing room once more to clean herself up and get ready for the celebratory banquet. As she walked, she couldn't help but notice that she passed a door to the courtyard, where Ike and his band of mercenaries were chatting. And she couldn't help but notice how the mage, Soren, looked at Ike, and see in him a feeling she knew well. And in turn, she couldn't help but notice how Ike looked at Soren.

Ohhhhhhhhhh.


	2. Chapter 2

Elincia stood on the castle walls. It was a series of tragic mistakes that had led her to this point here to begin with. If she had only ruled better, if she had only told Lucia to be more careful, if she had only caught Duke Ludveck earlier, if only... but the time for if only's was over. Despite Duke Ludveck's offer to let her give up everything to save Lucia's life, she couldn't. She knew she couldn't. Lucia wouldn't want her to. So even though she had won the battle, and defeated Ludveck, and by all rights ended the war for good, every branch was closed off to her now, and she stood on the precipice of fate. And Lucia was going to die, and Elincia could not save her.

Beneath her was the platform Lucia was strung up on, soon to be hanged, along with the last few tattered remnants of the rebel army. In a moment, she was going to address them, to tell them that she refuses to negotiate with traitors. Shortly after, Lucia would die. Elincia tried to both brace herself against it and put it out of her mind completely, so that she didn't fall apart here. There was barely any time left of the half-mark they had given her to make a decision. The time was approaching fast.

Geoffrey walked up behind Elincia. "Please just say the word, your majesty. I'll personally lead the charge and -"

"The charge to what?" Elincia replied, cutting him off. "To the army with a sword at Lucia's back, who can strike her down with a single blow? Can you truly tell me with a straight face you can prevent that?"

Without looking, Elincia could hear Geoffrey stiffen in response. "No, my Queen. But I must try. That is my duty as a Royal Knight."

Elincia sighed. "And it is my duty as Queen to realize when all is lost, and to make the hard decisions." 

She stepped forward, but Geoffrey grabbed her arm before she could reach the parapets. "Please, my Queen," he begged, the pleading evident in his voice. "Don't do this. Let me be the one to send the message."

Elincia shook her arm free. "Let me be a proper queen, for once. It is my failures that got us here. It must be me who sees us through the consequences."

Geoffrey surrendered to Elincia's wishes, and pulled back. Elincia strode forward to the parapets. She gazed down at the rebels beneath her, thirsty for blood. She prepared herself. "Rebel soldiers, hear me!" she shouted. "Ludveck of Felirae, having conspired against the nation, will stand trial. As the queen and ruler of Crimea, I refuse to negotiate with those bent on destroying it."

The rebels turned to talk to each other, their voices blurring into a clamor. Finally, one of them standing next to Lucia on the hangman's platform, likely the leader of the crew, replied, shouting "So you're going to let this girl die?!" Lucia laughed at his surprise, tugging on Elincia's heartstrings. 

"People of Crimea..."

Elincia couldn't figure out who was talking at first, until she realized Lucia was once more. Her last words.

"Behold a true queen! YOUR queen! Long live Queen Elincia!"

Elincia had just ordered Lucia's death, and Lucia still believed in her. Elincia doubted she could ever find someone so devoted to her if she lived another thousand years. She cursed herself for having failed Lucia. But now there was nothing but to witness -

\- a flurry of motion. Lucia falling into Ike's arms. Rebels falling all around them. The Greil Mercenaries were here. They saved Lucia.

Geoffrey was shouting something at Elincia and scrambling towards the stairs down from the walls. Elincia couldn't hear him. She fell to her knees, no longer able to stand up.

Lucia was still alive. Thank the goddess, she thought, for this was a miracle.

\---

Some time later, after talking with Ike and paying him thanks, Elincia made her way to the infirmary. Thankfully, there were no critical injuries in the last battle, thanks to the assistance of the volunteer forces and the Royal Knights, so the only people there were the nurse filling out some records on a desk and Lucia, sleeping in a bed, recovering from the shock of the battle. The nurse, upon seeing Elincia enter, rose to greet the Queen before Elincia waved at her to stay seated, putting her finger to her mouth to shush her. The nurse quietly nodded and sat back down.

Elincia walked over to Lucia's bed and pulled up a chair to sit next to her. It was funny, but despite knowing Lucia so well, or possibly because of it, she hadn't really looked at Lucia in a long time. Maybe her drastic haircut had triggered that - Elincia mourned that, because she knew Lucia prided herself on her long beautiful hair, but Elincia thought that Lucia still managed to look cute regardless.

Elincia shook her head to clear her mind. What was she thinking about? Poor Lucia's hair got torn off when she was kidnapped and she was thinking about how cute she looked? Don't be silly, she scolded herself. Lucia must have been scared stiff... but she hadn't been, had she. Even at the end, when they had all surrendered themselves to Lucia's death, Lucia didn't show the slightest trace of fear. She stood there, proud and strong, for Elincia.

What did that take? Where did Lucia draw all that strength from? What convinced Lucia that Elincia was worth giving her life for?

Was there anyone Elincia would give her life for?

And what were these feelings stirring in Elincia's heart?

Elincia reached out to hold Lucia's hand. Lucia slightly stirred, her head turning to face Elincia and her eyes opening. "Your Majesty..." she whispered.

"Hey, Lucia. Sorry to wake you."

"It's... okay. Everything still hurts," Lucia said with a grimace, "but... I'm alive."

Elincia squeezed her hand. "Please don't leave me again, Lucia."

Lucia smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it... Elincia." She yawned. "I'm just glad... to see you're happy."

"You should get some more rest, Lucia. It's safe now."

Lucia nodded, and closed her eyes before drifting to sleep once more, her chest slowly rising up and down as she breathed softly. 

Goddess, but she was beautiful, though. Elincia sat with Lucia for some time, holding Lucia's hand as she tried to steer a course through the storm of emotions she was feeling.


	3. Chapter 3

Elincia dangled her legs over the precipice leading to the probably-infinitely-deep hole below them. She had been warned not to look to closely at any of the architecture of the Tower of Guidance, and she wasn't going to defy that to see how long of a fall it'd be. Still, it was a bit of a thrill to sit right on the edge and just freely swing her legs around, and her pegasus lazily flying around and stretching its wings could easily catch her if worst came to worst. 

Their adventures were shortly coming to a head. Once they reached the top of the tower, they'd be fighting Ashera. Actually fighting the- a goddess. Elincia had a hard time wrapping her head around the magnitude of the task, at times. All she knew is that she didn't have a choice - there was a clear path in front of her, her destination was in sight, and she had to press forward. It was that determination that got her from a daughter hidden away to Queen of Crimea, it was that determination that guided her during Duke Ludveck's rebellion (such a small thing, looking back, in comparison to their trials now), and it was that determination that was going to take her to the end.

And, perhaps on the smallest scale of all, it was that determination that was going to motivate her to confess to Lucia.

It had started back during that rebellion. Both Geoffrey and Lucia had been in mortal danger multiple times during the rebellion, but seeing Lucia come so close to death and get past it triggered something inside Elincia that she felt once before, with Ike. After Ike had (very politely but firmly) rejected her advances, she hadn't really thought of romance for several months after, and was buried in her work past that to the point she hadn't had the time to even give romance a second glance. Lucia, though... she was beautiful, and wonderful, and kind, and strong, and such a good friend to Elincia, and...

... and Elincia's retainer. And that's what confused Elincia. Was she reading too much into it? Was Lucia just being kind to her because it was her duty? Even if Lucia reciprocated her feelings, what would it mean for Crimea? Would the nobles accept it? What would happen to the line of succession? What would-

But Elincia had resolved herself. She had decided long ago that if she was to be Queen Crimea, then it would require an unwavering certaintude in what she did, from the big things to the small things. Even in the small, singular, personal things. And with so dramatic an end to their journey coming up... it felt like now or never.

She heard the soft patter of Lucia's footsteps approach from behind. This was it. Do or die. (Hopefully not die.) "Hey, Lucia!" Elincia said with all the courage she could muster. "What did Ike have to say to you?"

Lucia came over to Elincia's side and sat down next to her, but cross-legged to avoid hanging her legs over the ledge. Elincia's pegasus training had inured her to heights somewhat, but she understood that Lucia might be less inclined. "Not much. Just... some supply issues." Elincia looked over in time to see Lucia's eyes glance at the sheath in her hand, which she didn't have before. "If you don't mind, Your Majesty, I'd rather not talk about it."

Elincia didn't want to push farther, anyways. "Very well, then. And you don't have to call me by my title right now."

Lucia smiled, her lips lighting up her whole face. "It is who you are, my Queen. I can't just ignore that. It'd be disrespectful to all you've done." 

"What if..." Elincia said before trailing off. She found herself looking away from Lucia as she continued, quietly, "what if I was hoping we could ignore it, just for a while? Would that be alright?"

A pause, before Lucia replied, "Elincia? What do you want to talk about?" with concern creeping into her voice.

"It's just... I have a crush on someone, again." Goddess, she turned into a child every time she tried to talk about love. "And I was... well, I was hoping I could talk to you about it."

Lucia reached over to take one of Elincia's hands in support, and Elincia could feel her heart trying to jump out of her chest. "Oh, is that all?" she replied gleefully. (Is that all, she asks, as if Elincia wasn't dying just trying to say it) "Who is it then? Is it someone here?"

"Well... yes." Elincia left unsaid the part where she begged Lucia to not make her say who. She still couldn't work up the effort to look Lucia in the eye.

"Is it Ike again? If you still want him, it'll be difficult to separate him from Soren but-"

Elincia shook her head. "It's someone from Crimea, who I work with a lot."

"Hmm," Lucia muttered as she sat in thought. "Is it Count Bastian? I could help you get with him, maybe he'd stop hitting on me, but-"

Elincia shook her head once more. "It's someone I'm very close with. Who I depend on every day."

"... Is it Geoffrey?" Lucia said, a slight tease edging into her voice. Such a friendly, gentle poke, showing an affection that had built up over years. "You'll be hard pressed to convince him to stop thinking of himself as your knight, but I'm sure he'd make a lovely-"

Elincia turned to face Lucia directly. Now or never. "It's you, Lucia," she said with finality, looking directly into Lucia's eyes.

She could hear Lucia's breath being taken away. They stared at each other for a while, Elincia not wanting to back down at the final moment. Looking at Lucia, Elincia felt that she had seen that face once before, long ago, when Soren was looking at Ike. Maybe...

In the end, Lucia spoke first. "How long?" she whispered.

"Since you nearly died for me. Back in Crimea. I came to the infirmary to check on you, and...", Elincia trailed off as she gave Lucia's hand a slight squeeze, "I fell pretty much instantly. It took until now for me to really process it, though."

"Are you sure? Truly sure?" Elincia... maybe it was just her being foolish, but Elincia swore she heard a tinge of hope in Lucia's voice.

"As much as I can be. I'm sorry to tell you this, at such a tense time, but I didn't want to leave it unsaid, and-"

It was Elincia's turn to be cut off this time, as Lucia leaned over and grabbed Elincia in a hug. "Oh, Elincia... thank you," Lucia said, her voice choking up. "It... I've been hoping for years, but..."

Years? But... "Oh no, Lucia, you don't mean... I told you about my crush on Ike when you..."

Lucia nodded, her face buried in Elincia's hair.

"Oh, no, I'm so sorry, Lucia. You could've... why didn't you say anything?" Elincia reached over to hug Lucia as well.

"I'm just your retainer. To want to be more... it was above my position, and I didn't want to make things awkward for you, and..." Lucia sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. "I thought I'd be happy, just seeing you happy. And I was, and I thought that'd be enough, but now..."

They sat together for some time, holding each other, before they finally separated, returning to just holding each other's hands.

Finally, as to make sure that she didn't hallucinate it, Elincia asked, "So, you really like me? Romantically, that is?"

Lucia nodded. "For about four years now."

Elincia took a deep breath. "I know nothing's going to happen to us, I know we're going to make it through these trials, but... in case it does, can we kiss? Now? As proof that we're finally on the same page?"

Lucia hesitated. "Will that be okay? I don't want to overstep my boundaries."

Elincia, feeling bolder than ever, took Lucia's head in her hands and pulled her in for a kiss, Lucia yelping in surprise as she did but quickly reciprocating.

As they pulled apart, Elincia whispered, "I'm Queen Crimea. I'll do everything I can to make it okay."

Lucia smiled, and they hugged once more.


End file.
